I never actually make outlines for fanfiction like I do for other stuff. Why did I say that this story takes place 2 weeks before Kyoko kisses Koga in that opening bit? It's been, what 48 hours in the story, 72 if I'm being generous? I've got another week and a half of time to pass through before the story moves forward? I didn't think this through. 2 weeks sounded so short when I wrote it down. Damn.
Chapter 10:
Koga had an almost unbelievable level of confidence. To look her in the eye and say something so brazen, so flirtatious, so intimate, then go on as if nothing happened.
He even had the confidence to order on her behalf, giving her a look that challenged her to assert herself. To decline his offer and speak over him, but, really, she didn't care enough to do this. She had already been contemplating the pasta alla norma, and didn't typically mind being ordered for, so long as it wasn't meant to be controlling.
A look passed across Koga's face that Kyoko thought might be disappointment, but it was gone so quickly she couldn't be certain.
Koga had an astounding contradiction to the way he talked through dinner. He spoke so lightly. Talked about work, gently teased her for the politeness with which she ate, but he stared at her with such rich, dark hunger that even the simplest questions took on so much more meaning.
"Are you enjoying everything?" He asked, keeping his eyes on her lips as she took a bite of her pasta. Somewhere in her mind she regretted ever thinking Ren a playboy, when there were men this boldly flirtatious around. Maybe she owed him an apology for that. She looked up at him and saw her looking at her a little impatiently.
"Are you back, then?" He asked. His tone wasn't cold or angry, but it wasn't light or playful either, it was simple, and matter-of-fact.
He really did see right through her, noticed when she broke away from him, even for a moment. It was if he could read her mind and see her thinking of someone else.
She was a little embarrassed. Sure, it was just a passing thought, but she had disengaged in a noticeable way to think about Ren. There was a man right in front of her who had admitted that he was interested in her. A man who said it so certainly and casually that she hadn't run away in embarrassment like she might have had it been someone else. And she was thinking about Ren. A man who she was supposed to be angry with.
"I'm sorry," Kyoko said, looking away from intense gaze.
"Don't be. Just…" Koga took a moment and gathered his words. "stay with me. Please."
Kyoko tried to, she really did. But once Ren had crossed her mind he was there for the rest of the night. Even when she argued when Koga insisted on picking up the bill. Even when he was driving her home despite her saying she was fine to walk. There was a part of her mind that was dedicated to him. She wasn't sure anything could rid her of him before bed.
Until Koga walked her to the door. And placed his hands gently on either side of her face. He was going to kiss her. She wasn't sure if she should pull away. A part of her lit up when she realized what was happening. A part of her ached for it desperately. But a part of her was still thinking about Ren. What would this mean to him? For them?
Koga was only a breath away from her lips, but he stopped short, pulling back at the last moment.
"And there you go again, thinking about someone else," he said.
Kyoko wouldn't deny it, she couldn't. She was guilty and relieved and ashamed all at once.
She instinctively tried to look away to the ground, but Koga gently tipped her chin back up so their eyes met. "I know you want to kiss me," he said. "But we'll save it for another day, when you're all mine"